A number of U.S. patents disclose devices for attaching to ladders in order to support buckets. Such devices generally fall into two types.
A first type is attached to the rail of the ladder, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. D313,169; 4,776,550; and 5,305,977. These devices share a common deficiency in that the device cannot be easily moved up the ladder as the painter climbs the ladder without completely detaching the device from the rail, because the ladder rungs prevent movement of the device along the rail.
A second type is attached to a rung of the ladder, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. D266,964; D393,413; 3,895,772; 5,305,977; and 5,716,034. However, with the exception of U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,977, these patents do not disclose a means for securely attaching the bucket to the ladder rung, i.e., they all rely on gravity to keep the bucket attached to the rung. U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,977 discloses a hook for engaging a ladder rung and a spring for securing the hook in place; however, the design would allow the hook to rotate around the rung under the moment of inertia of the paint bucket.
There is a need for a device that can be easily attached to a ladder to hold a bucket and other attachments, that can be secured in place, and that can be easily removed from the ladder to move along the ladder with the painter or other person climbing the ladder.